8th Cir.

United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

Every decision we've summarized from United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Mar 19 2026
25-3104 Panel Decision

Ryan Terrell Patterson v. Centurion; Philip Tippen, MD Regional Director; T. Taylor, RN BSN; Amy Courtney, D.O.N.; James Donald, Dr.; Unknown Espinza, HSA; Unknown Humble; Unkno...

The Eighth Circuit vacated a district court's dismissal of a prisoner's civil rights action for failure to pay an initial filing fee, ruling that such dismissal constitutes an abuse of discretion when the inmate lacks available funds. The court held that the Prison Litigation Reform Act prohibits barring civil actions solely due to indigence when no assets exist to satisfy the fee requirement.

Civil Civil Rights - PLRA / Prisoner
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Mar 19 2026
25-3009 Panel Decision

United States of America v. Kevin Adams

The Eighth Circuit affirmed the revocation of Kevin Adams's supervised release and the imposition of a 22-month prison sentence. The court found no abuse of discretion, holding that the district court properly considered relevant factors and accorded a presumption of substantive reasonableness to the sentence within the Guidelines range.

Criminal Sentencing Guidelines
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Mar 19 2026
25-1829 Panel Decision

Antonio Strong v. United States of America

The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment in a pro se Federal Tort Claims Act action alleging medical negligence. The court held that under Arkansas law, the plaintiff failed to provide the necessary expert testimony to establish the standard of care and proximate cause for his alleged medical injury.

Civil Other Civil Summary Judgment
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Mar 18 2026
24-2875 Panel Decision

Raven W. Bartz v. City of Minneapolis; Officer Conan Hickey, in his individual and official capacities

The Eighth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for a Minneapolis police officer who used a less-lethal projectile against a protester during the 2020 riots, ruling the force was objectively reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. The court also upheld the dismissal of the officer's qualified immunity defense and the district court's refusal to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over state law claims.

Civil Civil Rights - Section 1983 Qualified Immunity Summary Judgment
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Mar 18 2026
24-1863 Panel Decision

RMC, LLC v. NLRB

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued an opinion in this labor dispute involving RMC, LLC and the National Labor Relations Board. The court entered judgment in accordance with the opinion on the same day it was released.

Civil Labor
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Mar 18 2026
24-1680 Panel Decision

Midwest Division-RMC, LLC, doing business as Research Medical Center v. National Labor Relations Board

The Eighth Circuit reversed the National Labor Relations Board's order finding that a hospital violated the National Labor Relations Act by withdrawing union recognition immediately after a decertification election vote. The court held that an employer may withdraw recognition at its peril before formal certification, meaning no violation occurs if the election results are ultimately upheld.

Civil Civil Rights - Voting
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Mar 18 2026
25-3518 Panel Decision

United States of America v. Cody Ray Leveke

The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's revocation of Cody Ray Leveke's supervised release and its imposition of a within-Guidelines prison term. The court held that the lower court did not clearly err in finding a mental health treatment violation and did not abuse its discretion in weighing sentencing factors.

Criminal Supervised Release
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